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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.run/post/38501

India's trade minister will hold talks in the UK on a free trade deal with Britain and meet ministers from the European Free Trade Association from July 10 to 11, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said on Sunday.

Trade minister Piyush Goyal will meet with his UK counterpart, Kemi Badenoch, as well as representatives from British industry, the ministry said in a statement.

The talks offer an opportunity to discuss the main priorities of a free trade agreement "with a focus on addressing trade barriers, promoting investments, and fostering greater cooperation in areas such as technology, innovation, and intellectual property rights," the statement said.

Differences have emerged between India and the UK on some key tariff lines and investment protection rules, including disagreement over concessions on duties levied by India on car and liquor imports.

Goyal will also meet ministers and officials from the European Free Trade Association, which comprises Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, to assess progress toward reaching a Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement with them.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.run/post/31536

French President Emmanuel Macron will show PM Modi the Louvre Museum and the two may get photographed with its most famous resident—Mona Lisa.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be feted by French President Emmanuel Macron when he lands in Paris on July 13 afternoon to take the India-France ties to a new height. File Photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron at Elysee Palace. File Photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron at Elysee Palace.

According to inputs from Paris and New Delhi, PM Modi will address a diaspora event at La Seine Musicale, a performing arts centre located on IIe Seguin island in scenic Seine River, in the western suburbs of Paris on the first day. Inaugurated in 2017, La Seine Musicale had hosted American folk-rock singer Bob Dylan in the 6000-seat Grand Seine theatre, where PM Modi will address the Indian diaspora on July 13. The La Siene Musicale is currently hosting the Festival of India called "Namaste France, organized by the Indian Embassy in France and the Ministry of Culture.

This will be followed by PM Modi being hosted by President Macron for a private dinner at his official residence at Elysee Palace. It is during this private dinner that both the leaders will discuss crucial global and bilateral issues and formal delegation level talks will follow after the Bastille Day parade on Champs Elysees in front of the French President on July 14.

A 269 men strong contingent of Indian Army from the Punjab Regiment and Rajputana Rifles will participate in the parade on the ground while one single Indian Air Force Rafale fighter will be the show with three others following in a formation. INS Chennai, an indigenous guided missile destroyer of the Indian Navy, will be stationed at the strategic port of Brest, where the nuclear ballistic missile firing submarines (SSBNs) of the French Navy are stationed. But the grand show will follow after the delegation-level talks in Paris.

President Macron will host PM Modi at Cour Marly courtyard at the world-famous Louvre Museum for a ceremonial dinner expected to be attended by over 250 dignitaries. Filled with natural light and a ficus trees forest, the Cour Marly has an army of statues made by the finest sculptors of the world since the 19th century. It is after the French lay a sumptuous vegetarian spread for PM Modi at the Cour Marly that President Macron will take the Indian leader for a guided tour of the Louvre. Perhaps the two of them may get photographed with Louvre’s most famous and most expensive painting, Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, a masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance.

The two leaders after the tour of the Louvre will attend the dazzling fireworks display over Eiffel Tower from the terrace at Louvre. While the bilateral ties between the two middle-level powers will reach the next stage after PM Modi’s visit, the red-carpet treatment given to the Indian leader will surpass any bilateral visit by an Indian PM in the past by miles.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.run/post/30611

New Delhi: In the India-UK Strategic Dialogue that took place in Delhi on Friday, India urged the UK to tackle extremists threatening Indian diplomats.

Indian National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval and his UK counterpart Tim Barrow led the talks, where India aired its grievances about extremist factions attacking Indian diplomats. The Indian government demanded legal prosecution or deportation of these groups.

These requests come in the wake of attacks on Indian embassies overseas by pro-Khalistan extremists in March this year. The Indian High Commission in London was also a target, leading to a diplomatic dispute between India and the UK regarding the security provided to Indian diplomats. In a move to address the Khalistan extremism, India hosted Matthew Rycroft, the UK Home Department's senior official, this year.

The two sides also discussed counter-terrorism, counter-terror financing, use of the internet for terrorism purposes, illicit drug trafficking and counter-radicalisation.

The two nations are also considering a collaborative agreement similar to India's partnership with the US on critical and emerging technologies such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing. This agreement aims to connect Indian businesses with UK-based leading-edge research facilities focusing on 5G and other pivotal technologies, and facilitating easier movement of research talent between the countries.

The technology partnership was given further impetus after the Indian Science Minister, Jitendra Singh, visited London in April. Both nations inked an agreement to strengthen the ties between their scientific communities, and to allocate funds for research in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and bio-imaging.

The NSAs also deliberated on wider regional and international issues during their encounter.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.run/post/30328

The curtain raiser event for the World Hindu Congress 2023, set to take place in Bangkok later this year, commenced in Mumbai’s Jio World Centre. The event witnessed the presence of prominent leaders, scholars, and distinguished personalities. It also included the announcement of the World Hindu Congress 2026. It will be hosted in Mumbai. Swami Vigyananand, the organizer of the event, emphasized the importance of unity, strength, and global recognition for Hindus. The conference aims to bring together intellectuals, experts, politicians, and media personalities to address these priorities. The theme for the congress is “Jayasya Aayatanam Dharmah: Dharma, the Abode of Victory.” The primary objective is to unite Hindus on a global platform. It aims at fostering the exchange of ideas and strengthening their collective voice.

The Curtain Raiser Event

The curtain raiser event, held in Mumbai’s Jio World Centre. It marked the official launch and announcement of the World Hindu Congress 2023. Organized by the World Hindu Foundation, the event drew attendees from various countries, including prominent personalities, religious leaders, and scholars. The gathering served as a precursor to the main congress scheduled to be held in Bangkok.

Significance of the World Hindu Congress

The Hindu Congress serves as a platform for Hindus to come together, exchange ideas, and address contemporary challenges facing their community. It aims to promote dialogue, foster intellectual discourse, and forge alliances. They address issues such as religious freedom, education, social empowerment, and environmental sustainability.

The congress provides an opportunity to strengthen networks and collaborations among global Hindu organizations, scholars, and thought leaders.

The World Hindu Congress also plays a crucial role in projecting the positive aspects of Hinduism, dispelling misconceptions, and encouraging interfaith dialogue and understanding. It acts as a catalyst for social change and community development by advocating for the values of compassion, inclusivity, and service inherent in Hindu philosophy.

Way Forward

The World Hindu Congress has been a resounding success in previous editions, with New Delhi, India hosting the event in 2014 and Chicago in 2018. These landmark conferences witnessed the participation of distinguished individuals such as the revered Dalai Lama, renowned British politician Priti Patel, esteemed American politician Tulsi Gabbard, Vice President of India Venkaiah Naidu, and notable Union Ministers like Nitin Gadkari and Smriti Irani. The conferences also attracted delegates from a staggering 60 countries, further solidifying its global significance and impact.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.run/post/28422

Phir Mile Sur Mera Tumhara, a Republic Day special song created by Zoom TV. This soul-stirring track that was created in 2010 brings together many influential personalities - Bollywood celebs, sportspersons, and musicians, in the spirit of patriotism.

Featuring:

Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, A R Rahman, Sonu Nigam, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Prasenjit Chatterjee, Baichung Bhutia, Shahrukh Khan, Mahesh Babu, Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor, Shaan, Bhupen Hazarika, Kavita Krishnamoorthy, Dr. L. Subramaniam, Anoushka Shankar, Mammootty, Shivkumar Sharma, Rahul Sharma (musician), Gurdas Mann, Juhi Chawla, Zakir Hussain (musician), Thetakudi Harihara Vinayakram, Vikram, Surya, Abhinav Bindra, Sudarshan Patnaik, Shilpa Shetty, Vijender Singh, Sushil Kumar, Karan Johar, K. J. Yesudas, Shiamak Davar, Shobana Chandrakumar, Shreya Ghosal, Rohit Bal, Priyanka Chopra, Louis Banks, Rituparna Sen Gupta, Amjad Ali Khan, Amaan Ali Khan, Ayaan Ali Khan and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.run/post/25483

Photo of Swami Vivekananda in Chicago in 1893 with the handwritten words “one infinite pure and holy—beyond thought beyond qualities I bow down to thee”

Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902) is best known in the United States for his groundbreaking speech to the 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions in which he introduced Hinduism to America and called for religious tolerance and an end to fanaticism. Born Narendranath Dutta, he was the chief disciple of the 19th-century mystic Ramakrishna and the founder of Ramakrishna Mission. Swami Vivekananda is also considered a key figure in the introduction of Vedanta and Yoga to the West and is credited with raising the profile of Hinduism to that of a world religion.

Speech delivered by Swami Vivekananda on September 11, 1893, at the first World’s Parliament of Religions on the site of the present-day Art Institute

Sisters and Brothers of America,

It fills my heart with joy unspeakable to rise in response to the warm and cordial welcome which you have given us. I thank you in the name of the most ancient order of monks in the world, I thank you in the name of the mother of religions, and I thank you in the name of millions and millions of Hindu people of all classes and sects.

My thanks, also, to some of the speakers on this platform who, referring to the delegates from the Orient, have told you that these men from far-off nations may well claim the honor of bearing to different lands the idea of toleration. I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth. I am proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of the Israelites, who came to Southern India and took refuge with us in the very year in which their holy temple was shat­tered to pieces by Roman tyranny. I am proud to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still fostering the remnant of the grand Zoroastrian nation. I will quote to you, brethren, a few lines from a hymn which I remember to have repeated from my earliest boyhood, which is every day repeated by millions of human beings: “As the different streams having their sources in different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee.”

The present convention, which is one of the most august assemblies ever held, is in itself a vindication, a declaration to the world of the wonderful doctrine preached in the Gita: “Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths which in the end lead to me.” Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descen­dant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth. They have filled the earth with vio­lence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilization and sent whole nations to despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now. But their time is come; and I fervently hope that the bell that tolled this morning in honor of this convention may be the death-knell of all fanaticism, of all persecutions with the sword or with the pen, and of all uncharitable feelings between persons wending their way to the same goal.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.run/post/16304

Despite his active war-mongering and mass killing of civilians in the name of drone attacks against terror groups, Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009.

On Thursday (June 22), former US President Barack Obama courted controversy by virtue-signalling India about its ‘human rights’ record.

Obama, who has a notorious record as a potential war criminal, suggested that the Indian Prime Minister must be told by the Biden administration about protecting the ‘Muslim minority in a majority Hindu India.’ He also hinted at another ‘partition’ if India, under the Modi government, did not mend its ways.

The former US President made the contentious remarks during an interview with CNN news host Christiane Amanpour, just hours before PM Modi made his historic address at the joint session of the US Congress.

He said, “If President (Joe Biden) meets with Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi, the protection of Muslim minority in a majority Hindu India is something worth mentioning.”

Barack Obama also claimed, “If I had a conversation with Prime Minister Modi, then, part of the conversation would be that if you do not protect the rights of minorities, then there is a strong possibility that India at some point starts pulling apart…That would be contrary to the interests of India”

The former US President, who is now mouthing platitudes about protecting the interests of Muslims in India, has been single-handedly responsible for the death of 100s of innocent people in Muslim-majority countries.

Human rights record of ‘war monger’ Barack Obama

Barack Obama scripted history in 2008 by being the first African-American man to become the President of the United States. In 2016, he also created another record of being the only President to take the country to war during the entirety of his 8-year term.

As per a report by the ‘Bureau of Investigative Journalism’, Obama oversaw more drone strikes (54) in his first year than George W Bush did in his entire term. Prior to his Presidency, he would talk about ending ‘dumb wars’ but did the opposite when he came to power.

Barack Obama, who holds the distinction of being a Nobel Peace Prize Winner, reportedly launched airstrikes in at least seven Muslim-majority countries of Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Pakistan.

He sanctioned the use of a whopping 563 drone strikes and killed 3797 people in this process. In one instance, a CIA drone strike targeted a funeral in Pakistan, which led to the death of 41 civilians in Pakistan.

More than 89 civilians in the same country were killed by the Obama administration over the course of 128 targeted drone strikes. The US President was aware that the drone strikes were far from accurate and were increasingly leading to the death of civilians.

But this did not stop him from continuing with such attacks in Somalia (2010) and Yemen (2011). Reportedly, 21 children and 12 women (five of them being pregnant)were killed by the Obama administration’s first strike in Yemen, with the aim of targeting Al-Qaeda.

It also came to light that in 2016 alone, the US government under Obama carried out at least 26,171 bombings, which translates to 72 bombings every day on civilians in other countries.

Mass civilian casualties were also reported in Afghanistan. An average of 582 people were killed annually in Afghanistan by the US, its allies and the Afghan government in Kabul between 2007 to 2016.

The Obama administration has also been accused of conducting ‘double-tap drone strikes’, which means that the site of a drone strike is attacked again. This is despite knowing the fact that such follow-up strikes lead to the death of first responders, which is against the guidelines laid down by the 1948 Geneva Conventions.

Obama administration warmed up to Muslim brotherhood, oversaw the rise of ISIS

During the tenure of Barack Obama, the US government warmed up to the radical Islamist outfit ‘Muslim Brotherhood’ in Egypt during the Arab Spring. It was a complete departure from the approach undertaken by previous US administrations.

According to author Hany Ghoraba, Barack Obama believed that he could separate the terror outfit ‘Al-Qaeda’ and Muslim Brotherhood. “Empowering the Muslim Brotherhood would, according to Obama, weaken Al-Qaeda in a decision that can be considered as one of the severest cases of political naiveté in modern times,” he noted.

“The core fault of the Obama administration was its adoption of a false rhetoric, presented for years by Islamist activists and later liberal Western politicians and pundits, that there is a distinction between the Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Qaeda,” Ghoraba pointed out.

The Arab Spring led to significant political changes in several countries, including the ousting of long-standing autocratic leaders. In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm, namely, the Freedom and Justice Party, emerged as a major political force.

In 2011, the Obama administration thought it was a great idea to engage with the Muslim brotherhood-led- government, mistaking it to be a ‘new democratic force’ and looking past its radical Islamism, dangerous ideology and its mistreatment of religious minorities.

Later when protests erupted against the government in Eqypt, the Obama administration quickly took a U-turn and called for the removal of the Muslim Brotherhood-backed-Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi. Documents now reveal that the US government funded anti-Morsi activities.

The Presidential tenure of Barack Obama was also marked by the rise of the dreaded terrorist organisation, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria aka ISIS.

One of the major contributing factors was the withdrawal of the US troops, failed negotiations with the Iraqi government and lack of residual US military presence in the country. The security vacuum left in Iraq gave opportunities for radical Islamist groups to expand.

Conclusion

Barack Obama has been at the helm of building secret drone bases in the Middle East and Africa and increasing the deployment of warships and troops in the Western Pacific and Eastern Europe.

He has been accused by his first three Defense Secretaries at the Pentagon of micro-manging the military from the White House. Through the killing of dictator Muammar Gaddafi, Barack Obama ensured that Libya plunged into complete chaos.

Later, the oil-rich nation became a magnet for terrorist groups. Despite his active war-mongering and mass killing of civilians in the name of drone attacks against terror groups, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009. With the left media acting as his PR agent, Obama has been able to keep up with the false image of being a ‘great ex-President.’

At the time of PM Modi’s visit to the US on the invite of the incumbent President Joe Biden, Barack Obama is pontificating the Modi administration about human rights and peddling the distorted narrative of ‘Muslims being in danger in India.’

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